- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Comoros shock Tunisia, Salah, Mbeumo strike in AFCON qualifiers
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Germany win in Nations League as 10-man Dutch rescue point
- Undav brace sends Germany to victory against Bosnia
- Israel says fired at 'threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- Ecuador's last mountain iceman dies at 80
- Milton leaves at least 16 dead, millions without power in Florida
- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
- Tears, warnings after Japan atomic survivors group win Nobel
- 'Unspeakable horror': the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- Christian villagers 'trapped' in south Lebanon crossfire
- Sabalenka sets up Gauff showdown in Wuhan semis
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Kim Sei-young holds lead with late birdies at LPGA Shanghai
- Toulouse welcome Dupont 'boost' as Olympic star returns to Top 14
- Japanese atomic bomb survivor group Nihon Hidankyo wins Nobel Peace Prize
- Deadly Israeli strike on Beirut likely targeted Hezbollah security chief
'Football crowd' as Marchand fires up Paris pool
French hero Leon Marchand threw down the gauntlet with a storming 400m medley swim Sunday as Mollie O'Callaghan outgunned Ariarne Titmus to top the women's 200m freestyle heats.
Marchand is the Olympic hosts' big hope after last year demolishing Michael Phelps' 15-year-old world record in a phenomenal 4min 2.50sec.
The 22-year-old, trained by Phelps' old coach Bob Bowman, had not dipped under 4:10 this year as a number of his rivals did, piling on the pressure.
He rose to the occasion on day two at a packed La Defense Arena to touch in 4:08.30 as a raucous crowd went wild, more than a second clear of Britain's Max Lichfield and two seconds ahead of Japanese veteran Daiya Seto.
In an upset, American defending champion Chase Kalisz failed to reach the final, ending his bid to make the podium for a third time after also winning silver at Rio 2016.
"It was almost like a football stadium but in a pool. Everyone was chanting my name, it was crazy," said Marchand, who is gunning to end a 12-year French gold medal drought in the pool.
"I think I was prepared. I was able to stay in my performance. I had a very strong 250m and then I relaxed a little.
"If I can free myself as much as possible from my body, from my mind, it will be great. I think it'll be fun," he added of Sunday's evening final.
At the 2021 Olympics, France took home just one swimming medal, Florent Manaudou's silver from the 50m free. They haven't won gold since London in 2012, when they collected four.
Marchand will also swim the 200m medley and 200m butterfly.
Defending 200m champion Titmus was back in the pool a day after taking out the 400m title ahead of Summer McIntosh and Katie Ledecky.
She showed few signs of tiredness, easing into the semi-finals third fastest behind pace-setting teammate O'Callaghan (1:55.79).
- Calm -
Titmus shattered O'Callaghan's world record last month at the Australian trials to set a new best of 1:52.23.
O'Callaghan also went under her previous world record in coming second, making the pair overwhelming favourites for gold on Monday.
"Definitely hard to back up after last night, but I think I tried to stay as calm as I could last night and try and forget about what happened this morning really," said Titmus.
"On to another day, 400's done now, so 200's the focus."
David Popovici was fastest through the men's 200m freestyle heats, touching in 1:45.65 ahead of Lithuania's Danas Rapsys and Belgium's Lucas Henveaux.
The Romanian, who burst on the scene by winning the 100-200m freestyle double at the 2022 world championships and smashed the 100m world record later that year, is in top form after recently clocking the fifth fastest time ever.
Germany's Lukas Martens, fresh from winning the 400m gold medal, also qualified for the semi-finals, as did reigning world champion Hwang Sun-woo of South Korea.
But China's Pan Zhanle missed out, and by a long way, with the current 100m world record holder nearly four seconds adrift.
In other heats, South Africa's Tatjana Smith surged home in 1:05.00 in the women's 100m breaststroke, outpacing Chinese world champion Tian Qianting and Ireland's Mona McSharry.
American world record holder Lily King, the Rio gold medallist who won bronze in Tokyo, was fifth fastest.
Hungary's Hubert Kos (52.78) led the way into the men's 100m backstroke semi-finals.
The United States' Ryan Murphy, who won gold at Rio 2016 and bronze in Tokyo three years ago, was fourth fastest, with Italian world record holder Thomas Ceccon 12th.
Along with the men's 400m medley, there are two other finals on Sunday, headlined by 100m breaststroke king Adam Peaty's bid to match Michael Phelps and win three consecutive gold medals in the same event.
American Gretchen Walsh is the red-hot favourite to take out the women's 100m butterfly crown after smashing the world record at the US trials.
B.Finley--AMWN